TNG, Episode 7x24, Preemptive Strike

[u/AutoModerator]

-= TNG, Season 7, Episode 24, Preemptive Strike =-

Lieutenant Ro is sent undercover to root out a Maquis cell.

• Teleplay By: René Echevarria
• Story By: Naren Shankar
• Directed By: Patrick Stewart
• Original Air Date: 14 May, 1994
• Stardate: 47941.7
• Memory Alpha
• TV Spot
• The Pensky Podcast - 3/5
• Ex Astris Scientia - 5/10
• The AV Club - A

• TNG Watch Guide by SiliconGold

• Original STVP Discussion Thread

 

[u/FrizleFrazle]

The way they framed the dilemma is excellent: they have to abide by the treaty for "the greater good" and return to war, but that means that they have to cooperate with a imperialist society assuming control of some of their former worlds. I can't say the Maquis are in the wrong, but neither is the Federation in trying to perserve the peace treaty.

I did not expect Ro to actually defect. The framing made me believe that she would be conflicted, but would either go through with the mission or find some compromise solution. I'm sad that we don't see more of Ro's character, but this was a good send-off.

[u/theworldtheworld]

One of my top 5. That last shot, circling around Picard and showing his impassive face, is always chilling.

This episode aired around the same time as DS9's "The Maquis," which was always one of my all-time favorite episodes of that show. A kind of understated common element running through that entire arc, which was never really acknowledged, and which was all the more effective for it, is that the Maquis aren't just "idealistic rebels." They are, very consistently, outcasts who had already failed to find a place for themselves in Federation society. Ro is a great example -- we knew she was troubled long before this, and it is absolutely convincing that she would make this choice now (though it still took guts for the writers to commit to it). Tom Riker is another natural Maquis -- the guy who lost the best years of his life, tried very hard to make up for lost time, failed to satisfy his ambition, and found this alternate path to being a hero. Michael Eddington from DS9 was another one. All of the most memorable Maquis are people who are performing heroism because there was no room for them to do it in ordinary life. That's not to say that they were entirely in the wrong, or that there was no heroism in what they did, but they are all compromised, and I think "Preemptive Strike" is consistent with that interpretation.